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All quiet on the western front - PM 2023


pedro maia

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1 hour ago, Galana said:

Wot? No Apple Pie? :(

 

Of course there was, work got in the way as I was writting and then I forgot that most important part and real reason to stop in Solitaire B).

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Peter Connan

I was about to say at least you didn't drive all the way for the apple pie, because it just isn't that good...

Edited by Peter Connan
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4 hours ago, Peter Connan said:

the apple pie, because it just isn't that good...

I agree. Sadly there was no replacing the great 'Moose' McGregor or his pie.

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4 hours ago, Peter Connan said:

I wabout to say at least you didn't drive all the way for the apple pie, because it just isn't that good...


i thought it was pretty good but there was no consensus in the group on that issue.

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I have to go back to the first day in the Okahandja lodge because I had this one lost and need to count it:

 

N68, Southern grey-headed sparrow (Passer diffusus)

1808323201_IMG_8989Southerngrey-headedsparrow.jpg.bb96cb9d2d0f1a0fdfc7a7bc51c9e8f1.jpg

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From Solitaire we had an uneventful drive to our hotel +-20km south of Sesriem, Le Mirage Resort & Spa, by the name one can guess it´s not the typical lodge one expects to find it that area and it isn´t, it´s more like a fancy hotel, with a moroccan castle look, not ideal but considering what was available in the area and the distance to the Sesriem gate that was the choice, if I ever return I will probably choose another kind of lodge but it´s a good hotel, just the style is a bit out of place.

 

thumbnail_72d7dbd0-05a1-4a62-9433-d4967ac7bcf5.jpg.4ad9de1ed87569815e345ff14baea356.jpg 

 

The small waterhole in the back of the hotel atracted mainly oryx and the odd jackal.

 

thumbnail_4b7569c1-b545-4506-b5b7-3d9a484c36b2.jpg.466f99dfeb58cef4bfcbb087b5d053ba.jpg

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We arrived in the middle of the afternoon and after refreshing at the pool I still had energy to pick up the car and drive a few km south in the C27 looking for some birds.

 

This one was in the hotel grounds:

 

N69, Rock martin (Ptyonoprogne fuligula)

891111268_IMG_9771Rockmartin.jpg.6b823a83733784fabf9b3468a13c209b.jpg

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N70 (W670), Southern fiscal (Lanius collaris)

1170237957_IMG_0066Southernfiscal.jpg.b25e8d5d3446b19ccec94117fba2ed35.jpg

 

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N71 (W671), Scaly weaver (Sporopipes squamifrons)

97181647_IMG_9848Scallyweaver.jpg.313ba6da9365b833615836a636f4559b.jpg

 

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N72 (W672), Brubru (Nilaus afer)

1783033105_DSCN2860Brubru.jpg.5c63f4134db2b446a24736fb22bacc57.jpg

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N73 (W673), Ruppell's bustard (Eupodotis rueppellii)

568915217_IMG_9877Rupellsbustard.jpg.fc28153e310c8a18580821f466113ef1.jpg

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N74 (W674), Greater kestrel (Falco rupicoloides)

959965429_DSCN2849Greaterkestrel.jpg.d0e57d58e30da9857ab3d0daa225e95f.jpg

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N75 (W675), Lanner falcon (Falco biarmicus)

1070232331_IMG_9823Red-footedfalcon.jpg.8556a1e277d812bc9e57ee45128e3d4d.jpg

 

24884041_IMG_9826Red-footedfalcon.jpg.4d3bdab5f126c59ec09d3a4a67f20767.jpg

Edited by pedro maia
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More good birds in your batch! That is an out-of-place looking hotel, indeed...

Somehow #75 does not look like a Red-footed Falcon to me. Also the underparts seem to be too reddish for a Peregrine, but perhaps a Lanner?

 

Edited by PeterHG
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I excluded peregrine because of the reddish underparts and to me it seemed like a red-footed female because in my guide hte underparts of the lanner are also more pale, but I can´t trust my ID :P.

 

Some more shots, not as sharp as I would like, what do you think @PeterHG (and others)?

 

251447859_Falcon11.jpg.8ce75e4c7b783473c5e3573d4613943d.jpg

 

1007736492_Falcon2.jpg.f0fb2fb806582db7186226f15037ef25.jpg

 

1690166112_Falcon3.jpg.c1a76118de7f87764beeadf216590fdd.jpg

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When I lift the shadows in the computer, my guess would be a Lanner Falcon. This is a Lanner I took some years back in Namibia and it also has the reddish hue on its underparts.

7D2_1744-Edit-L.jpg

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So Lanner it is, and yours it´s much prettier than mine :P.

 

I had another Lanner but not in flight:

 

1050432263_DSCN2873Lannerfalcon.jpg.ab2c6bf6981e9bc07178690ef8532180.jpg

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Full day at the desert, we headed to Sossusvlei to see the red dunes, my wife and my brother-in-law climbed dune 45, I stayed in the parking, when they came down we could see the rain in the Deadvlei direction (what are the odds), I wasn´t too happy about that because Elmar, our guide from Sandwich Harbour, had convinced me to drive the 5km sand road, I had the tyres deflated to 1,5 in Sesriem but now I was having second thoughts.

 

IMG_9895.jpg.0da74ef0b791f2b99ac753a3b23e2e7f.jpgIMG_9914.jpg.3d2580631fe0ef07235ede9e94380389.jpg

 

When we arrived at the 2x2 parking it was still raining but it seemed that it was going to stop soon, I asked a NWR driver how was the road condition and he told me to wait for a while and then follow his tracks, which I did successfully.

 

The beggining of the sand road

 

thumbnail_IMG_3758.jpg.6105ca509deb2ed056e1e021b03bf30b.jpg

 

The whole area is spectacular and the Deadvlei is really impressive, we were not alone but there weren´t hoards of people and we really enjoyed this part of the trip, one of the most impressive places we ever visited.

 

IMG_9959.jpg.ca3e68546126aa525c2614e40736371d.jpgIMG_9987.jpg.e5b93b7c2ade721113f21db4b3ea5677.jpg

 

I still had to drive the sand road again, this time with no scout in front of me, I nearly got stuck in one particularly sandy stretch but managed to keep going and I can say it was one of the highlights of the trip for me.

 

 

We backtracked to Sesriem, to grab a bite and drink some beer, before heading to the hotel to pass the hottest part of the day, it was really hot, 39º.

 

IMG_9994.jpg.d961cde04fca041afcc4bbb8a1ae428b.jpg

 

Later we returned to visit the Sesriem Canyon, beeing there it was worth the visit, it´s a nice place but without any wow factor.

 

thumbnail_IMG_3799.jpg.3b656745e490b86ccb1a6f0e6bd23d49.jpg

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Next day was our last full day and we had 330km in front of us, mos in gravel roads, @Galana had suggested that it was worth to drive by the Spreetshoogte Pass but that would add 1 hour to the drive so we took the shortest way and it was still scenic, very enjoyable and with a few stops for birds.

 

First we saw a (already counted) Rupell´s bustard

 

IMG_0017.jpg.825156ef29de4bf1c2e1e7cc3dd12eaf.jpg

 

And bat-eared fox, we had seen it in the Kgalagadi and they are beautiful, this one posed nicely.

 

IMG_0023.jpg.be00bb6a73c9f892962317eaa55bffc8.jpg

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Now the species for the trip count:

 

N76 (W676), Black-throated canary (Crithagra atrogularis)

1716935169_IMG_0197Black-throatedcanary.jpg.81dd72dae827ae52e10e5512ca8148f7.jpg

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N77 (W677), Karoo Chat (Emarginata schlegelii)

768377939_IMG_0070Karoochat.jpg.2b104f8c4990b3af2acb04f5ebb6be52.jpg

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N78, Black-winged kite (Elanus caeruleus)

919307736_IMG_0130Black-wingedkite.jpg.4849560511ab8cd4a1e5ebd60a8f3b5e.jpg

 

I can see it 30m from home but it´s allways a nice bird to see, this one was very nervous, flying around the trees by the road, it was clear that it wasn´t because of us, it´s problem was this goshawk he was trying to chase away:

 

959775124_IMG_0151PCG.jpg.a8de940cb889775fb22f106825ece139.jpg

 

I assume it´s an immature Pale-chanting but if somoene sees here a Gabar I won´t mind at all.

 

The kite was really keen on chasing the intruder away, next picture gives an idea of the interaction, it was fun to watch it.

 

1073681463_IMG_0152Black-wingedkitePCG.jpg.dbe6ae1b424fc73919a09e25129a0b59.jpg

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N79 (W678), Black harrier (Circus maurus)

258733146_DSCN2876Blackharrier.jpg.196ecf1a8bcf5103ffd4c6c5d7497eef.jpg

 

1064239766_IMG_0187Blackharrier.jpg.5ce24a83cae9c52f392d997e2d9acef0.jpg

 

Edited by pedro maia
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